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Wisconsin Immunization Program Update

The following is from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Immunization Program.

Meningococcal (MenACWY) Vaccine Schedule in the WIR

Recently, it was brought to our attention that the meningococcal (MenACWY) vaccine forecasting rules within the WIR was completing the series for patients who received their second dose of the vaccine before the age of 16. Due to the waning immunity of meningococcal vaccines 5 years after administration, children currently marked as ‘series complete’ might still be at risk for meningococcal disease during their college years (Reference: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6202a1.htm).

According to Ask the Experts, a booster dose of MenACWY is recommended at 16 through 18 years even if 2 (or more) doses of meningococcal vaccine were received before age 16 years. People aged 19 through 21 years who are entering college or are first year students living in a residence hall, and who have not received a dose of MenACWY on or after age 16 years, should also be vaccinated. This new adjustment to the WIR forecasting rules will allow patients to complete the MenACWY series only after they have received at least one vaccine on or after their 16th birthday.

Important: If you have patients who have yet to turn 22 years of age and did not receive MenACWY vaccine on or after their 16th birthday, we ask that you provide an additional dose of MenACWY vaccine to help protect the patients when they might be most vulnerable.

The Wisconsin Immunization Program, within the Division of Public Health, Department of Health Services, is offering mini-grants to community-based organizations to conduct adult vaccine awareness and education. The funding period is December 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018. Please see the attached cover letter and application for additional details. Note that the application deadline has been extended to Friday, October 20.

The purpose of the community based organization (CBO) funding is to increase the number of adult immunization partners and stakeholders in the state. The CBOs should have experience with doing direct-to-consumer education and outreach where adults live and work. The goal is to reach adults where they are in their communities and especially under reached/underserved populations. Ideally, an awarded CBO would work closely with their local health department or immunization coalition.

If a local health department (or Immunization coalition) is interested in the funding, then a potential solution would be to identify a local CBO that can apply for the funding and have the LHD or coalition be listed in the application as a partner organization.

Registration for HPV summits is open!

The 2017 HPV Summits will be held on Wednesday October 18th in Green Bay and October 26th in Eau Claire. Continuing education credits are available through the collaboration of the Medical College of Wisconsin and Badger Bay. For more information, please visit the Summit web page.

Vaccine-Preventable Disease Update

Pertussis activity remains low in Wisconsin. No outbreak-related mumps cases have been reported since May 2017. Please visit the pertussis report and the mumps update for the most up to date information.

Since 2015, local health departments and the Immunization Program have worked together to document in WEDSS all clusters and outbreaks of varicella and mumps. This information is then reported to CDC for analysis and summarization. This month at the IDWeek conference in San Diego, California, CDC is presenting summaries of the varicella and mumps information reported from Wisconsin and other states. Thank you for your continued cooperation with disease reporting and documentation in WEDSS. The information that you report is very important and allows for a better understanding of the epidemiology of varicella and mumps in the United States.

Webinar: Hepatitis A and B Vaccines: Recommendations and Impact

On October 18, 2017 at 12 PM ET please join Noele Nelson, MD, PhD, MPH, Medical Epidemiologist, Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a webinar where she provides an update on the immunogenicity and safety of hepatitis A and B vaccines, explains current Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations, and evaluates the impact of vaccine implementation on the changing epidemiology of hepatitis A and B diseases.

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

Explain and apply ACIP recommendations for the use of hepatitis A and B vaccines

Identify vaccine-preventable risks for hepatitis A and B

Describe the epidemiology of hepatitis A and B and immunization rates

For LHDs- Positive story of health department using the HPV pop-up poster

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin immunization Program sent all local health departments pop-up posters that read "If there were a vaccine for cancer, wouldn't you get it for your kids?" We wanted to pass along the positive experience that Sheboygan County Public Health Program shared with us.

I just picked up our HPV display to move it another clinic and wanted to share the positive feedback I received.

The practice that displayed the HPV poster of the boy jumping in the water image in their waiting room. The staff expected to receive questions from the parents who came to their practice but actually had a lot of discussion with the grandparents.

Older adults wanted more information about the vaccine to share with their adult children to educate them on vaccinating their grandchildren. The clinic staff had educational materials printed and made available for the grandparents to share.

Additionally this practice provides a folder to each client when they come in for an appt. with educational items in it based on the client age. Now they have included HPV educational handouts for the older adults in their folders to view.

It is exciting to see it is starting conversations with just a pull up poster! Thanks again for allowing us to use in our community!

We hope that Sheboygan's positive experience inspires you to continue using the posters and having the important conversation about the importance of 11 and 12 year olds getting the HPV vaccine.